


How we met each-other.

by SpookyFaces



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Drunkenness, Fighting, Inspired by How I Met Your Mother, Love, M/M, Pining, a lot of talks about larry sex, and our captain niall, larry - Freeform, larry are cheesy, sometimes more sometimes less, they are all best friends, ziam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-21 20:31:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookyFaces/pseuds/SpookyFaces
Summary: In the middle of Manhattan, sewed into the bricked building, a small, shitty bar sits proudly. The food sucks, air is too heavy, and alcohol-well, it's an alcohol. Nobody knows who owns the bar, not even the ginger barista, who's been working there for years.Five friends spend almost all of their evenings sitting in that exact bar. They have no other choice, because their apartments are located right on top of the bar. They talk, laugh, cry, fall in love, fight and get unbelievably drunk. But, no matter what happens, they always end up in that shitty bar.Or How I met your mother AU, with a lot of unnecessary drama, jokes and alcohol.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> zayn's a bit of robin  
> harry's a bit of marshall  
> lou's a bit of lily  
> niall's a bit of barney  
> liam's a bit of ted
> 
> i'm a bit of boring  
> so enjoy!

Winter in New York is some other level of evil. It stands somewhere in the middle of Voldemort and a guy that killed John Wick's dog. You either freeze your ass off, either get drowned in the dozens of layers of clothes.

So when someone walks into the cozy, warm bar and invites a cold wind through an open door, it's a catastrophe. Especially, when with every guest stepping in, a tiny, annoying bell rings and informs everyone _HEY, SOME BASTARD DECIDED TO WALK INTO THE BAR AND GO ALL SUB ZERO ON YOU!_ For example, right now, there's someone squeezing through the narrow door and Louis Tomlinson can't help but glare at them from the booth.

That certain someone shakes off snow from the beanie and pads towards the familiar faces. With a loud huff, he flops down in front of Louis and sighs.

"It's so fuckin' cold, it should be illegal to make poor citizens walk to their works in this blizzard." - He mumbles as he takes off his beanie.

"It's been two seconds and you've already succeeded to annoy the shit out of me." - Louis hisses and takes a sip of his beer. "Actually, you've annoyed me the second you've stepped into the bar. No, actually, you've managed to annoy me even without you physically being here, just a thought of you-"

"Lou, deep breaths." - A soft voice cuts him off. A tattooed arm wraps around Louis' waist and hauls him closer to the familiar, warm chest. "Excuse his attitude, Liam. He's pissed off because of some guy from his job."

"Some guy- _Some guy?!_ The asshole stole my stapler, the one I bought with my own money!"

Harry places a small kiss on the top of Louis' head and it visibly calms an angry hedgehog. Liam motions for the barista to bring him the beer and takes off his jacket. 

"Anyways,-" - Harry looks at Liam with his kind, green eyes. "How's work, Lima?"

"First - stop calling me that." - Liam's brows knit together. "Second - I hate my job. Let's not talk about it. Let's talk about something else. Like, I don't know, your sex-life? We always somehow end up talking about your sex-life anyways."

"Because our sex-life is interesting, magical, wonderful and, wait for it, existent. Everything _yours_ isn't." - Louis shrugs and earns a glare for Liam. Before he can say something harmful as an answer, an annoying bell ring again and three heads turn to the side to greet another guest.

Liam's face breaks in grin from the familiar sight of red cheeks, ruffled hair and- _a single boot?_

"Nialler, the fuck happened to your boot?" - Louis asks with his high-pitched voice when the blonde guy sits in the booth beside Liam.

"You're never gonna believe-I was walking down the Fifth, yeah? And there was this guy selling some hot-dogs, you know, the one with a really huge sausage-anyways. I get a hot-dog and this fuckin' dog appears out of nowhere?! It-It starts chasin' me down the street, running like a hell-hound and then it grabs my foot and-"

"Enough of blockbuster shit, don't you think? What really happened?" - Louis cuts him off. Niall's cheeks get red and he hangs his head low.

"Mr. Jenkin's dog stole it."

Harry bursts out in a laughter, banging a fist on the wooden table, meanwhile Louis stares at Niall with a fascinated grin.

"Munchkin? A fuckin' _chihuahua ?_ " - He gasps.

"That dog's a pure evil." - Niall snaps. 

The barman appears near their table and puts a tall glass of beet in front of Liam.

"Thanks, Ed." - Liam flashes him a warm smile, but Niall grabs it first and chugs down the liquid in one swing. A smile freezes on Liam's face and he mentally forces himself not to slap Niall then and there. Last Christmas, he made a bet with Niall and won three infinite-slaps. Meaning, for the rest of his life, he can slap Niall's Irish cheek three times whenever and wherever he desires to. He thinks he might use one slap right now, but decides to save it for later.

"So, what's new in life, lads?" - Niall asks after he burps quietly (not really) and straightens in his seat.

"Not much. Hazza here got promoted, so we were planning his present for tonight." - Louis says casually and Niall fakes probably his twentieth fake gag this week.

There's something to know about Harry and Louis. 

They've been together for 10 years. The two of them met in school, became the high-school sweethearts only after a week and have been dating since. If anyone asks Liam, what a perfect relationship looks like, he'll point at two of his best friends. But he will never tell them that. Like, ever. Because, at the same time, Harry and Louis are probably the most cheesy, disgusting couple to ever exist. Disgusting, on level of sharing stories of sexual experiments with everyone. _That_ level of disgusting.

Unfortunately for Liam, he has to live with them. He has shared the room with Harry back in college dorm and somehow ended up living in the same apartment as the horrible couple. He has thought of moving away, but he's too broke to live on his own at the moment, and Niall would never share a flat with anyone. 

Oh, yeah, Niall. The thing about Niall - he is too rich for his own good. Even though he tried to explain dozens of time what exactly he does on his job - nobody till this day knows where he gets all his money. Louis thinks he's a heir of some Irish King. Louis is stupid and doesn't know there is no such thing as a Monarchy of Ireland, but nobody dares to tell him. So Liam is stuck in a small apartment with Harry and Louis. 

"You two are so disgusting and horrible that I can't wrap my head around it." - Niall gasps. "And congrats on promotion, buddy." 

"Thanks, Nialler." - Harry drawls.

Liam motions for Ed ro repeat the beer, hoping this time he will end up being the one drinking it.

"Okay, no quick reactions, but there's a hot girl sitting right behind you, near the bar and- _I said no quick reactions, Jesus!_ " - Louis whines as Niall's head snaps back in a speed of light. 

The girl winks at Niall and lifts her drink up, obviously inviting him to join her. Niall's annoying, red face breaks in grin and he slips out of the booth.

"Niall, it's too early for-Ugh, whatever." - Louis rolls his eyes.

"Use protection!" - Harry adds, but Niall's already out of the reach-zone. Ed approaches them and puts a beer on the table, right on front of Liam. An annoying bell on top of door rings again, but this time everybody ignores it.

"Thanks, Ed." - Liam nods with a tight smile. He's about to take a sip when Harry nudges him and he spills a bit of beer on his pants. "Hey, what the-"

"Under-table meeting!" - Harry announces and dives under the table, dragging Louis with him. With a sigh and a roll of eyes, Liam follows his friends, squeezing under the table.

"Is that who I think it is?!" - Harry whisper-shouts and points towards the door. Liam turns his head but only sees the bottom part of a guy that walked in. But, the thing it - it's enough.

It's enough to send his head swimming and spin the world around Liam. He recognizes the tight, black jeans and combat boots. He recognizes long, thin legs. Of course he does.

"Oh, yeah, it is." - Louis grins mischeviously and rises his eyebrows. Liam wishes he could slap that smug look out of his face, but he's too busy drooling over the pair of legs that have now approached the bar.

"Payno, bet you don't have guts to talk to him." - Louis pinches Liam's shoulder. 

"I bet twenty bucks he'll hold a solid five-minute-convo with him today." - Harry replies with a whisper. "Go use _"do you remember Liam"_ on him."

"Deal!" - Louis yelps and straightens up, leaving Harry and Liam under the table.

"Don't you dare-I didn't agree to anything-"

"Zayn!" - Louis' voice rings through the bar, over some rock music blasting from the speakers. Shivers run down Liam's spine and he squeezes his eyes shut, trying to disappear from the spot. He hears familiar voices speaking somewhere near his table, but he's too concentrated on planning Louis' murder in his thoughts.

"We're so glad you're here." - Harry's voice drawls, indicating he too left an under-table-meeting. "Hey, you remember Liam?"

Fuck. _Shit._ Liam's sure his face is as red as Niall's when he crawls out of the table and flops down on the chair. He lifts his eyes to meet the oh-so-familiar face. Zayn blinks at him with his almond-shaped, beautiful eyes framed with beautifully long lashes, as a small smile plays on his plump lips. He's wearing an oversized knit sweater, looking like he's drowning in it, and Liam wishes he could rip it off his body and-

"Liam. Yeah, of course I remember him." - Zayn grins. "How are you, mate?"

Liam ignores the way Harry mouths "mate" at Louis and smiles back at Zayn.

" 'M good. You?" - _Wow, he doesn't stutter._

"Okay. A bit frozen, to be honest." - Zayn hugs himself and shuffles from one foot to another. "Decided to get a drink to warm me up."

"Join us!" - Harry and Louis yell in unison.

Here's a thing you need to know about Zayn, other than the fact that he's a definition of a perfectly sculptured face and a beautiful body.

Liam has been drooling over Zayn ever since he first walked into the bar three years ago. He is an old friend of Harry and had just moved to New York when Harry contacted him and invited to bar for a drink or two. Liam was there too, sitting on the next table, accompanying Niall on his double-date with some random bird. When Zayn walked into the bar, dressed in leather jacket and skinny jeans, he managed to twist Liam's insides from a simple glance. Liam melted into the pool of lust at that exact moment and, ever since that night, he's been pining after Zayn like a thirteen-year-old. And, of course, his friends never fail to use that as their advantage.

_"Liam, take out the fuckin' garbage, I warn you for the last time!"_

_"Oi, shove that garbage up your fat ass, Louis!"_

_"Well, as I know, Zayn hates when guys don't take out the garbage."_

_"Fine, whatever! Gimme that stupid garbage."_

And so on.

At the moment, Zayn is sitting beside Liam, smiling at whatever Harry's telling and he has no idea that the 1/12th of his knee is touching Liam's knee. The fabric of their jeans are in contact. Liam's not sure he'll ever wash these pants.

Harry hands Zayn a beer (Liam's beer) and grins at him.

"So, you've got any plans for tonight?"

"Um, not really." - Zayn shrugs and takes a sip from the beer. _Liam has never wanted to be a glass of beer so much._ "Just wanted to chill a bit."

"Perfect! In that case, you're invited over to our house for a serious round of Monopoly. We're going to bankrupt Liam." - Louis chimes in.

 _Wait._ No. No, Zayn can't go over to their flat. He will see Liam's vinyls, and DVDs and will probably think he's a nerd and has a horrible taste. Oh, this is bad. Abort the mission, abort the-

"Sure, why not." - Zayn nods. "You don't mind, right, Leeyum?"

"Nope!" - Liam yelps with a tone too high-pitched for his liking. Louis kicks his leg under the table and shoots him a shaming glare. _Alright, he deserved that one._

"Perfect. 'M gonna go pay for drinks and tell Nialler-"

"I'm off!" - They hear a familiar voice. 

Niall has an arm draped over the girl as they walk towards the exit. He winks at his friends and holds the thumb up behind his back, indicating he'll probably be absent for the rest of the night.

"Does he miss a night?" - Zayn asks with a confused look. "Or there's always someone to warm up his bed?"

"Always." - Louis sighs. "Says his bed is too expensive and beautiful to not share it with a pretty girl every night."

"But he won't share a flat with me." - Liam mumbles.

"Probably 'cause you're a shitty flatmate." - Louis suggests. Liam's ears turn red as he looks up at Louis with wide eyes and then points at Zayn, only for Louis to notice. The boy smirks and lifts his brows. _Fuck Louis Tomlinson._ Talking of fucking Louis, where the fuck did Harry go?!

"Alright, let's go!" - Harry announces as he approaches the table. "Let's crash Liam in monopoly."

Liam watches how Zayn smiles and shakes his head before following Louis and Harry out of the bar. He isn't sure wether to complain or be happy. On one hand - he gets to spend the whole evening with Zayn. On the other hand - Louis and Harry, and all their horrible, shaming aura will be there, too. At the end, he decides it's too late to do anything now. So he grabs the beanie and his jacket and strides after his friends.

All he ever wanted was a glass of beer he never got to drink. Liam had no idea that night would become the beginning of something bigger than just a Monopoly night. But we'll get back to that later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ignores mistakes, i'm typing this in uni library lol. finals are killing meeeeh

"So, Zayn," - Harry sets a plate of cookies on the table and sits down on the couch, wrapping an arm around Louis' shoulders. "-any plans for the next five years?"

They've decided against playing Monopoly, because the game always ends with Louis storming off to the bedroom, refusing to talk with anyone and Harry trying to make it up for his boyfriend. Instead, they've sat down in the living room and have been talking since. Or, to be more exact, Harry and Louis have been talking about their relationship for last couple of hours. And finally, for some reason, Harry decided to ask Zayn about his life. Liam is sitting on the floor with his legs crossed beside Zayn. He's been staring at the boy non-stop, feeling of shame and other social norms long forgotten. Zayn has glanced back at him a few times, sending him small smiles and swelling Liam's poor heart. Harry's question seems to catch him off guard. Zayn looks down at his fingers and clears his throat.

"Not really." - He shrugs. "I'm trying to find a new job. You know I've worked for the channel for last couple of years. I host a news show that airs at 5 A.M. I'm sure the only person watching my show is my old neighbor, who thinks he owes me because I've helped him to find his cat a year ago."

Liam's cheeks grow red and he hangs his head low, obviously not admitting that he never misses any of Zayn's shows.

"The job's, I don't know how to say it-"

"Horrible?" - Louis suggests and earns a nudge from Harry.

"Yeah." - Zayn nods. "Yeah, horrible."

"Everybody hates their jobs, it's nothing new." - Harry says. "I've graduated as a lawyer, hoping to work in a courtroom and guess what? I sit my ass off in stupid bank."

"You know Niall hates when you talk shit about his bank." - Louis warns him.

" _His_ bank?" - Zayn asks confused.

"Don't ask. Nobody knows what Niall Horan does for living, but we know the Leprech Bank is his." 

"Could have guessed." - Zayn chuckles. "That's the most Irish name for a bank."

"Liam here hates working as an architect for some rich guys." - Harry adds.

"Am I the only one who actually enjoys doing whatever I'm doing?" - Louis asks.

"You work as a kinder-garden teacher. Your job is perfect comparing to ours."

"Perfect?! Those kids are pure evil, I'm telling you. For example. last week, little Simon Cowell decided it'd be nice to dump the can of red paint on my head. Sometimes I wish it was legal to strangle these kids and-"

"Who want some tea?!" - Liam cuts Louis off and probably saves him from jail. He scrambles up to his feet and points towards the kitchen. " 'M gonna go make some."

"I'll come, too." - Zayn stands up. "Not sure I'm ready to hear sex details from these two."

"Heeeey." - Harry drawls, but everyone ignores him.

Liam's cheeks get even more red when they step into the kitchen. Zayn hops on the counter and grabs a mason jar full of jelly beans while Liam rummages in cupboards, looking for kettle. He found it on the top shelf, meaning it was not meant to be found by someone short ( _Louis_ ). Harry's sure Louis has a tea-addiction and has been trying to cut him off by hiding a kettle. He fills it up with a water and sets it on fire.

"Want some?" - Zayn suggests, lifting the jar full of sweets. Liam chuckles and shakes his head. He leans on the wall with his back, arms crossed on the chest. "I never eat the green ones. They suck. Taste like a strange mix of kiwis and a lettuce."

"Lettuce?" - Liam laughs confused.

"Yeah. I hate lettuce. But don't tell Harry, you know he's a health freak."

"He really is. He spends mornings in front of magic bullet, making those horrible smoothies."

"Ugh, tell me about it." - Zayn's face twists in disgust. "Once, back in college, he set one of those on fire. Hell knows how, probably added too much water or something. It bursted out in flames, can you imagine? Louis swore to never buy him a bullet anymore."

"Seems like he broke his promise." - Liam nods towards the magic bullet standing proudly on the counter, near Zayn. He feels calm from how easy it is to hold conversation with Zayn. 

Zayn chuckles and nods.

"Those two are horrible. But they are a definition of a perfect couple for me." - He mumbles. "Not that I'll ever tell them."

"Yeah, same." - Liam agrees. "I hope one day I'll find someone like that to share all of me."

Zayn looks up at Liam, with his big, beautiful eyes and suddenly, Liam collects the bravery and courage to do something he's been craving for years now.

"Look,-" - He starts. "-do you, maybe, I don't know. Um, maybe-"

"Come on, Liam." - Zayn smiles. "It's just me, you can tell me anything."

"Wanna go out some time?" - Liam blurts.

The kitchen drowns in silence. No, the whole flat goes quiet. The TV becomes mute, Harry and Louis stop talking, Liam stop breathing. Nothing in the world exists, other that Zayn's wide, surprised eyes. _Shit, he's surprised. It's not good. Fuck, it's bad._ Stupid, stupid Liam.

"Um, like on-on a date?" - Zayn breathes.

"Y-Yes?" - Liam stutters. "Sorry, you can-I'm sorry-"

"Liam, stop apologizing." - Zayn cuts him off with a shake of a head. "Can you just-Can you sit with me for a moment?"

Liam gulps and obeys. He sits near Zayn, their feet dangling off a few inches apart from each-other. Zayn sets a jar on the counter and starts fidgeting with his fingers.

"Look, Liam,-" - He starts with a whisper. "-there's too much going on in my life right now. I-What I've said about finding a new job. It's far more serious than just my wish. Yeah, the pay is too low, barely enough to cover the rent of my shitty flat located in the arse of the city, but there's something else. I'm from UK, as you know, and a week ago I got a letter from the embassy. I have to find another job in my field, something more secure and serious, or else I'll get deported. Like it's so easy to find a job in this stupid city. And I can't go back to UK, I'm not ready to face the life that I left there."

Liam's heart swells from the sad look in Zayn's eyes, instead of feeling ashamed because of what happened minutes ago, he feels worried and concerned for the boy in front of him.

"I need to find a new job, new flat, sort my head out. I can't-I won't dive into the relationship with irresponsibility. I can't be with anyone if I'm not able to give out all of myself and right now-I'm not sure I know who I am. There's just too much going on. I'm sorry, Li. It's not that I don't like you, I really do. I like yo so much sometimes it scares the living hell out of me. I-I'm sorry-"

"Zayn,-" - Liam wraps a hand over Zayn's shoulders gently. "no, hey, don't apologize. I get it. I understand and you don't have to say sorry. Plus, I'm really happy that you like me."

Zayn chuckles and looks up at Liam with warm eyes.

"Maybe we can be friends?" - He suggest quietly. "I mean, we already are, but-we could get closer."

"Yeah." - Liam nods. "That'd be great. I-I'll help you with anything I can. I'll be there for you and I promise not to make any moves on you."

Zayn grins and his smile spins Liam's head. The smaller boy reaches a tattooed hand for Liam to shake.

"So, friends?" - He asks with a small voice. Liam doesn't hesitate to wrap his fingers around Zayn's cold hand.

"Best friends." - He says sternly. 

The world goes back to existing. TV roars from the living room, Louis' loud laughter fills up the house and Liam breathes again. Zayn smiles, with crinkles appearing by his eyes and tongue poking between his pearl-white teeth. Liam doesn't regret asking Zayn out, because at least he got a new friend. He has no idea that Zayn would become someone far more serious and important, than just a best friend. But later on that.


End file.
